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Villa Vs NUFC Referee Watch: Mike Riley
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 Friday
10th February 2006
By Paul
Mosley
Paul Mosley a Toon supporter and one of Newcastle-Online.com's
resident qualified referees, takes a look at Mike Riley, the man who
will be officiating the Aston Villa Vs Newcastle United match at Villa
Park. Here Paul will go through Riley's history of refereeing Toon
matches and providing a statistical breakdown of the ref's handling
of United over the years.
Mike
Riley is originally from Rotherham in South Yorkshire, but is now
based in Leeds in West Yorkshire, and is 41 years old. He is taking
charge of Newcastle for the 3rd time this season as we travel to Villa
Park for our Barclays Premiership clash with Aston Villa on February
11. His other Newcastle matches this season were our trip to Ewood
Park to play Blackburn Rovers in September, and our trip to Whaddon
Road just a fortnight ago to play Cheltenham Town in the FA Cup 4th
Round.
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Mike Riley Background |
Mike joined the Football League list all the way back in 1994 and
made a quick jump to the Premiership, arriving 2 years later. He was
nominated for FIFA International status in January 1999, and reached
the pinnacle of his career when he was chosen to represent England
at Euro 2004, refereeing 2 matches, Sweden’s 5-0 drubbing of Bulgaria
and Latvia’s 0-0 draw with Germany. In August 2000 the Football Association
chose him to referee what was known at the time as the FA Charity
Shield between Chelsea and Manchester United, and dismissed Roy Keane
in a bad tempered 2-0 win for the Londoners. Then in May 2002 he was
appointed to the FA Cup Final in Cardiff, Arsenal beating Chelsea
2-0.
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Mike Riley Recent Form |
Mike is one of our most senior officials, so has taken charge of a
total of 29 top level matches this season. 19 of these were in the
Premiership, 3 in the FA Cup and 1 in the League Cup. He has been
dispatched to the lower echelons of English football just once this
season, and has been on 5 continental journies. Across these games
he has awarded an astonishing 9 penalties and shown 8 red cards, and
98 yellows. Main reason for worry is that night on two-thirds of the
yellows and 5 of the 8 reds have been to the away side, while 6 of
the penalties have been to the home team. This includes 2 to Arsenal
when they met Manchester City in October (the infamous Pires penalty
being the second), and 1 penalty apiece in 2 games, Chelsea vs Blackburn
and Middlesbrough vs Nuneaton. His 29 matches have resulted in 16
home wins, 7 away wins and 6 draws, with 48 home goals and 32 away
goals. His 19 Premiership games have resulted in an amazing 12 home
wins and 3 draws, with just 4 away wins, with a goal ratio of 29-19
in favour of the home teams.
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Mike Riley & Newcastle |
Mike has refereed 28 Newcastle games, of which we have won 12, drawn
10 and lost 6 (43% win rate). Of those, 15 were away or on neutral
ground, and we have taken 6 wins, 4 draws and 5 defeats in those 14
(40% win rate). Of the 28, 24 have been Premiership games, resulting
in 9 wins and 9 draws, and 6 defeats (32% win rate), and of those
24 thirteen were away, of which we have 5, drawn 4 and lost 4 (38%
win rate). Across all 28 games we have scored 50 goals and conceded
just 31. He has shown 5 red cards in those 26 Newcastle games, 2 of
them to us, 1 each at home and away. Of the 3 to our opponents, only
1 was away from Gallowgate.
He has shown 93 yellow cards in Newcastle games, 43 to us and 50 to
our opponents, meaning an average of 1.7 per game to us and 1.9 to
our opponents. He has awarded 8 penalties in United games, 4 of them
to us, with all 4 of those at St James. 3 of our opponents’ 4 have
been given on Tyneside. Our best win with Mike in charge was a 4-0
win on 2 occasions, over Southampton at St James’ on 12 September
1998, equalled against Bolton at the Reebok on 13 October 2001, while
our worst defeat was that 1-4 loss in Cardiff last season. The highest
scoring game of ours that he has been involved in was a 2-4 defeat
at Aston Villa last August, equalled by a 3-3 Worthington Cup draw
with Everton, while the lowest scoring was a 0-0 draw at Everton in
February 1998. His games this season saw us win 3-0 at Blackburn,
although we had 5 players booked and 1 sent off, to Blackburn’s 1
yellow card, and a card-free 2-0 win at Cheltenham in the Cup.
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Mike Riley & Aston Villa |
I can find 20 Villa games Mike has refereed, of which they have won
a paltry 3, drawn 8 and lost 9 (15% win rate), in which they have
scored 25 goals and conceded 30. All 3 of those wins came at Villa
Park, where they have also drawn a further 4 and lost 3 games out
of 10 (30% win rate). In the Premiership, they have won 3, drawn 8
and lost 8 of 19 games (16% win rate), with their Premiership record
at home being 3 wins, 4 draws and 2 defeats (33% win rate).
He has shown 3 red cards in Villa matches, one each for Villa and
Charlton in a thrilling 4-3 triumph for the visitors at Villa Park
way back in the 1998/99 season, and one to Lee Hendrie in Villa’s
2-0 loss at Man City last season. He has given 1 penalty against Villa,
to Leicester at Villa Park, but none in their favour. He averages
1.6 yellows per game to Villa and their opponents. This season Villa
have won 1 and drawn 1 of them 2 games he has refereed this season,
both at Villa Park: An opening day 2-2 draw with Bolton, and a 4-0
Boxing Day win over Everton. Amazingly Villa had to wait until that
infamous meeting with us last August for their 1st win with Riley
in charge, taking a further 2 victories since. Before then they had
drawn 7 and lost 6 of their unlucky 13 games under his control.
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Mike Riley & Aston Villa Vs NUFC |
Mike’s history in this fixture is a case of ‘The Good’ and ‘The Very
Very Bad’. ‘The Good’ came in my very first away game, a 1-0 win at
Villa Park on December 4th 1999, as Duncan Ferguson headed home in
front of the away fans, with Riley producing 7 yellow cards but having
a controversy-free afternoon, That was not the case in August 2004
in what proved to be Sir Bobby Robson’s last game in charge of the
club. The dramatic events of that day can be found elsewhere in this
article on what was certainly not Riley’s finest afternoon. The following
season, he has the chance to erase that nightmare.
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Mike Riley & Controversy |
There has been a lot of controversy when Mike and Newcastle have crossed
paths. The first of which was in his 1st Newcastle game that I can
find, a 4-1 win over Everton in January 1997. Everton led for over
70 minutes after a Gary Speed free kick put them ahead, before Ferdinand
and Lee put us ahead with 11 minutes to play. 4 minutes later Asprilla
was tripped in the area and Riley awarded a clear penalty which Shearer
converted, before Elliott added a 4th in added time. After a run of
controversy free games, Riley came to St James Park in Sepember 1998
for the visit of Southampton. Alan Shearer gave us an early lead,
and doubled his advantage from the spot after a Stephen Glass shot
was handled, with Jason Dodd being sent off. Shearer went on to complete
his hat-trick, with Ketsbaia adding a fourth.
It was April before we saw him again, again at St James Park for the
visit of Tottenham Hotspur. He gave Spurs a penalty when Barton fouled
Stephen Carr after 49 minutes. Anderton converted but Temuri Ketsbaia
ensured United earned a point. In December 2000 Riley again came to
Gallowgate for the visit of Manchester United. As seems to be the
way with Riley, he awarded Manchester United a penalty when Andy Griffin
felled Giggs in the area. Beckham converted to give the Red Devils
a 1-0 lead, only for Stephen Glass to equalise in the final minutes.
He then took charge of 2 successive 1-1 derby draws, with memorable
moments including Andy O’Brien’s equaliser at the Stadium of Light
(and 9 yellow cards), and Craig Bellamy’s 1st Newcastle goal. We then
visited Bolton Wanderers in October 2001 and took a 1st half lead
through a Solano goal which appeared to be offside. Bolton hadn’t
named a substitute keeper, and that decision backfired massively when
Jussi Jaaskelainen handballed outside his area and had to be dismissed.
Bo Hansen went in goal but Robert, Shearer and Bellamy added goals
to complete a 4-0 rout.
Next up was a visit to St James in March 2002 along with relegation-threatened
Ipswich Town. Riley first ruled out a Shearer goal for a foul on John
McGreal before Marcus Bent and Laurent Robert traded goals. Bent then
grabbed a sloppy second before Shearer had a second goal disallowed
for another foul. He wasn’t to be denied an equaliser on 88 minutes
though, heading in a Robert cross. He then gifted us a chance to win
it when he spotted an innocuous push on Acuna by Makin, but Shearer
missed the penalty with the last kick and we drew 2-2. He refereed
a Tyne-Wear derby for a third time at St James in September 2002 with
both sides in the relegation zone. As early as the 2nd minute he played
a textbook advantage as, with Bjorklund having fouled Shearer, Riley
waved play on and allowed Bellamy to sprint onto a Dyer pass and put
us ahead, before he went back to caution the Swede. Shearer made it
2-0 with a trademark free kick after he was fouled on the edge of
the area, and in the second half Craig Bellamy was felled in the area
by Piper and got up feeling he’d won a penalty. To the Welshman’s
bewilderment, he saw a yellow card flashed at him for diving!
He was back to Tyneside in November for our Worthington Cup tie against
Everton. The visitors took an early lead through Kevin Campbell but
a superb pair from captain for the night Kieron Dyer put us 2-1 ahead.
A Steve Watson equaliser took the goal into extra time, where Pistone
put through his own net on his return, but Campbell broke through
and saw his shot blocked on the line by Caldwell who was dismissed.
Unsworth converted the penalty and it went to a shoot-out, which we
lost. In 2003/04 we were ludicrously asked to make a Friday night
trip to Highbury to face Arsenal. Henry gave them the lead but Robert
equalised, only for Gilberto to make it 2-1. Amazingly we levelled
again through Olivier Bernard, only for a ludicrous handball to give
Riley the opportunity to award a penalty, which Henry converted to
win it 3-2 for the Gunners.
In March of the same season he came to St James for the visit of Charlton.
Alan Shearer gave us the lead inside a minute and a fortunate ricochet
saw Jermaine Jenas make it 2 after half an hour. We looked in danger
though when Claus Jensen pulled one back, and Shay Given had to be
at his brilliant best to keep us infront, before Laurent Robert took
a tumble over Chris Perry’s outstretched leg, and Riley awarded a
penalty, much to the chagrin of the defender who felt the Frenchman
had dived. It was dubious, and Shearer missed the penalty anyway,
but scored the rebound to wrap up a 3-1 win.
His 1st Newcastle game last season was our trip to Aston Villa in
August. Villa took an early lead through Olof Mellberg, but Patrick
Kluivert marked his 1st Newcastle start with a brilliant goal, and
Andy O’Brien’s header ensured we went in at half time 2-1 ahead. Carlton
Cole equalised early in the second half, and then we broke away with
Craig Bellamy one-on-one with Thomas Sorensen. Bellamy knocked it
past the keeper who handled the ball. Like Jaaskelainen at Bolton
3 years previously, a red card should have followed but amazingly
Riley only gave yellow, and Sorensen remained on the field. Barry
and Angel added goals to put the seal on a 2-4 defeat and end Sir
Bobby Robson’s reign. Although towards the end Shay Given was also
lucky to escape without a red card when he manhandled Lee Hendrie.
Just a month later the appointment guys decided they would take the
proverbial and appoint Riley to our home game against West Bromwich
Albion. With the score at 0-0 just after the hour, Darren Purse was
removed after 2 yellow cards, and we finally managed to break the
visitors down with goals from Kluivert, Milner and Shearer, with Horsfield
grabbing a late consolation. Earlier this season we made the trip
to Blackburn for the game that was allegedly going to see Craig Bellamy
put the final nail in Graeme Souness’ Newcastle coffin.
4 months later he’s still here, after we won 3-0 at Ewood on that
September day. After a quiet hour, Shearer buried a trademark free
kick to give us the lead and, despite Riley himself falling over in
the build-up, Michael Owen grabbed his 1st Newcastle goal soon afterwards.
Steven Taylor was then dismissed after several offences led to a pair
of yellow cards, of which we had 5 in total on the day. That didn’t
worry Charles N’Zogbia, who produced a superb finish to put the seal
on a 3-0 victory. His latest Newcastle game was our 2-0 win at Cheltenham
a fortnight ago, where both sides should arguably have had penalties
awarded in their favour, but Riley amazingly kept his cards in his
pocket all afternoon.
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Mike Riley Conclusions |
Mike Riley has brilliant days, and absolutely shocking days. We have
to hope he has one of those brilliant days on Saturday. He does tend
to be a bit trigger happy when it comes to awarding penalties, but
he is a giver of decisions, and certainly not a bottler. His cards
and penalties tallies, as well as the results of his matches, suggest
he is a homer, but he is most certainly not.
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Aston Villa Vs NUFC History |
04/05 – As described above, a nightmare performance
from United and Mike Riley, with Shearer left on the bench, which
proved to be Sir Bobby’s last great act.
Villa 4-2 Newcastle. Ref: Mike Riley (W. Yorks). Yellow Cards:
AVFC 3 NUFC 1. Red Cards: None. Penalties: None.
03/04 – Despite the early dismissal of Andy O’Brien
for a foul on Darius Vassell, and injuries picked up on the day by
Jermaine Jenas and Craig Bellamy, United’s wounded soldiers came away
with a fine point and a clean sheet.
Villa 0-0 Newcastle. Ref: Barry Knight (Kent). Yellow Cards: AVFC
1 NUFC 3. Red Cards: AVFC 0 NUFC 1. Penalties: None.
02/03 – In a poor game, United picked up a late winner
when Alan Shearer shouldered in a cross from Andy Griffin with 8 minutes
to play.
Villa 0-1 Newcastle. Ref: Steve Bennett (Kent). Yellow Cards: AVFC
2 NUFC 0. Red Cards: None. Penalties: None.
01/02 – Alan Shearer gave us the lead early on after
Laurent Robert’s shot came back off a post, but Peter Crouch headed
in an equaliser for Villa.
Villa 1-1 Newcastle. Ref: Steve Dunn (Avon). Yellow Cards: None.
Red Cards: None. Penalties: None.
00/01 – Dion Dublin headed Villa into the lead after
just 4 minutes, but a superb lob from Nobby Solano won us a point
with just 8 minutes remaining.
Villa 1-1 Newcastle. Ref: David Elleray (Middlesex). Yellow Cards:
AVFC 2 NUFC 2. Red Cards: None. Penalties: None.
© Paul Mosley
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